Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 24 September 2015
2. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the reason more than €150,000 of public finances was transferred from three Limerick City of Culture 2014 events to other projects, some of which were not exclusive to the year-long celebrations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32372/15]
View answerWill the Minister explain why more than €150,000 of public finances was transferred from three Limerick City of Culture 2014 events to other projects, some of which were not exclusive to the year-long celebrations?
In budget 2014, an allocation of €6 million was made to Limerick City of Culture 2014 to be paid through the Vote of my Department. In November 2014, sanction was received from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, on foot of an application from Limerick City and County Council, for applying additional funding of up to €1.5 million to Limerick City of Culture from possible savings on my Department’s Vote. The additional funding was sought in respect of a range of activities, including international events, commissioning, legacy events, Made in Limerick projects and the Special Olympics. In the event, savings of just over €1.1 million materialised and this amount was applied to the project.
While, in general, decisions in relation to individual projects and artistic matters were the responsibility of Limerick City of Culture, all expenditure of public funds provided by my Department was subject to formal agreements with Limerick City and County Council, which are published on my Department’s website. I am satisfied that the funding in question was applied in accordance with those agreements.
Engagement with Limerick City of Culture about the final account for 2014 is continuing and I anticipate that the completed account will be submitted shortly. Overall, I consider that the Limerick City of Culture was a success, both in cultural terms and in enhancing civic participation in the city, and I believe it has left a lasting and positive legacy.
Limerick City of Culture still requires an extra €400,000 of taxpayers’ money to meet a funding shortfall after a spend of almost €11 million. As the Minister stated, €7.1 million was provided by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and €3.4 million was raised through sponsorship and donations. A total of €152,000 was allocated to three projects which did not proceed and the funds were moved elsewhere. The cancelled events were among 15 listed events and were funded from an initial Department allocation of €6 million.
An unknown amount was allocated to the project The Shouting Fence and was not recouped. How much was that and was the money simply lost? Limerick City of Culture has to date refused to state how much was spent on that event. The Shouting Fence required up to 300 singers for the performance who were originally to be local volunteers. Due to insufficient numbers signing up, the decision was made to hire performers from the United Kingdom. It is understood contractual payments and a booking deposit were paid for this.
The remainder of the €152,000 was transferred to three events not originally listed on the commission strand’s 15 events for public funding, the recent Culture Night, Christmas in Limerick and Limerick Winter Carnival. The organisers have stated they received the Department’s permission to transfer the funds. Does the Minister agree that the whole debacle smacks of a total lack of co-ordination and planning and can she explain why scheduled events did not proceed? Is it sufficient to say it was simply a case of poor judgment while spending taxpayers’ money?
I do not agree that the whole thing was a debacle. In fact Limerick City of Culture was a huge success. The Government initially committed €6 million for Limerick City of Culture. Following an application from Limerick City and County Council, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform last November sanctioned additional funding of up to €1.5 million from savings in the Department of Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht's Vote. In the event, the savings realised were of the order of €1.1 million and this amount was paid over. In total, €7.1 million was committed and paid. In respect of some of events or projects not proceeding as originally planned, this is something that can happen during the course of any year-long programme. I am satisfied that the projects funded in late 2014 were appropriate and that the additional funding was applied in line with the formal agreements in place between the council and the Department. I am also satisfied that the application of all the Department's funding will be fully transparent and accountable. Information on expenditure on the different city of culture programmes is available on my Department's website. A financial account for 2014 will be completed shortly and submitted to the Department, which is also carrying out an independent evaluation which will be published in due course.
It is well known that the city of culture ran into serious cash flow problems only weeks before it opened in January 2014. Internal documents from the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, obtained by The Irish Times under the Freedom of Information Act 2014, disclosed that Limerick City of Culture had none of its €6 million State funding in place by the time of the official opening on 31 December. The records show the scale of Limerick City of Culture’s difficulties in drawing down funding and the uncertainty it caused for the project.
Why then did the Government plough ahead with such precarious plans? In this context, and given all that we know now about the cash flow problems in the lead-up to the launch of Limerick City of Culture last year, does the Minister find it acceptable that questions remain unanswered regarding the transferring of €150,000 to other projects as I have outlined? When will the review of Limerick City of Culture conclude and how will we be notified of its findings? Will the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht make up the €400,000 shortfall in payment?
I accept that there were difficulties initially with Limerick City of Culture. I visited it and have to say it was a tremendous success. It brought a new life to Limerick. It was fantastic to see all the public art projects. I went to see what children got involved in. It really was a great success.
Regarding the Deputy's question on the events she mentioned, during a programme of that nature there are bound to be events that do not go ahead and others come in to replace them. It was ultimately up to Limerick City of Culture to decide. The Department will carry out an evaluation and that will be published in due course. I am aware that Limerick City and County Council would wish to access further Government support and the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht has made no commitment in that matter.
